Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, ‘The Babooch’ – Song Premiere

For a while there, the '90s sounded a lot like the '40s, and that was good news for Cherry Poppin' Daddies. In 1997, as the era's short-lived swing craze was reaching its zenith, and even preppies in Gap ads were jumping and jiving to big-band sounds, the Oregon group crashed the party with 'Zoot Suit Riot,' a modern-rock fave that came within one spot of making the Top 40.

On their two subsequent albums, the Daddies packed up their wallet chains and wingtips and changed sounds completely, and if it seemed to some they were distancing themselves from a fizzled-out fad, the fact is CPD were never a swing band to begin with. Before 'Zoot Suit Riot,' the group had dabbled in punk, ska, rockabilly, psychedelia, lounge and just about every other style you can think of. In a decade of weird mainstream crossovers, few were weirder than these guys.

Now, 16 years after 'Riot,' the Daddies get back to swinging on 'White Teeth, Black Thoughts,' due out July 16. Diffuser.fm is jazzed to premiere 'The Babooch,' the album's leadoff track. As leader Steve Perry points out in a press release, this "not a nostalgic record," and CPD are "a modern band talking about modern problems." 'Babooch' bears this out, and despite the retro gin-joint groove, Perry sings about hedge funders, jets to Cannes and UPenn's Wharton business school. It's 'Gatsby' for the Google Age (or something), and you can stream the sucker below.